veteran's day!

Sunday morning we woke up face to face with veterans day, one of our favorite holiday’s since 2011 and the reason we came on this vacation! we woke up and went straight to denny’s for a stack of all you can eat pancakes for free.99! many restaurants do this as a way to thank our vets. jon was appreciative, but at the same time really not. Do unlimited pancakes ever treat anyone well? Honestly?

Last week I ran into a friend at school who I took a class with last summer. I hadn’t seen her for a few months. She asked what was going on this week and I told her we were headed to LA to celebrate. She said she was going to be speaking in the city of commerce and invited jon and I! I was really excited about this. after denny’s we went straight to veteran’s memorial park in Commerce to the V-Day program. There were probably 50 people there, and 20 of them were veteran’s. we listened to Julia speak about what it is like to be a female veteran from the current wars, specifically the Iraqi campaign. She did a great job and I think it was an eye opener for all of us. They finished the program by having the boy scouts carry each military branch's flag with the veterans from that service walking behind. there were more marines than anyone! All the vets shook the mayors hand and got a certificate of appreciation with a ribbon and a pin. It was really sweet. I loved that jon got to be a part of a program like that and was individually thanked for his efforts in Afghanistan. It’s always really neat to see him amongst other veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam,  the Gulf War and Desert shield/storm. He even made friends with the other marines.

After the program, we hit up BJ’s restaurant for some more free ‘chow!’ (jon’s words, not mine.) There is nothing better than getting free BJ’s. he ordered breaded chicken, mashed potatoes and corn then we shared a choc-on-choc pizzookie. This meal gave us the energy we needed for a full day at the LACMA. It. Was. Amazing!!! There were so many artists and pieces that I recognized and knew the history of! It was so cool to see how much I have really learned in school this semester. In the spring i changed my major to art history and I am loving it! That museum definitely has something for everybody.

mary cassatt. favourite.

michael heizer. so obsessed.

After spending a good 6 hours there, we were ready for a hearty meal with none other than Lauren Rice! We were so excited to see her, it has been over a year! She took us to Tart, a southern style restaurant near the one we had been to the night before, weird huh? Jon and I ordered steak, mac and cheese, salad and mashed potatoes. It was really good! It was the perfect amount of food for me since we shared, but I think jon was a little unsatisfied…haha. We didn’t get enough of Lauren and her contagious laughter at dinner, so we all walked to the grove in hopes of catching the famous tree lighting ceremony. There were tons of cars leaving, we thought we missed it. There were still hoards of people there though, so we stuck around. We kept asking people what was going on, and no one knew! We had been waiting in line behind this girl for at least 8 minutes before we asked her what was going on. She literally said “I don’t know. I’m just trying to get to Starbucks.” Way funny that she was standing in line for an unknown reason in hopes of eventually getting to starbucks! They finally opened the flood gates and we all rushed in like anxious cattle, still not knowing what we were standing in line for. the fact that they were letting us into an area that had been previous off limits was enough. I was seriously being touched on all sides. We took six inch steps for over 25 yards as a group of at least 200. Picture it. We were all taking baby steps. at this time, jon. Busted. Out. Of. His. Shoes!! Pinky toes were exposed on both feet!  By the time we got caught up to the crowd that had been there for awhile already, Philip Philips was playing! Then Michael Bolton! Then Mario Lopez showed up! Next thing we knew, the backstreet boys were on stage! Then it started snowing! In LA! then there was an amazing fireworks display! It was such a hilarious turn of events. When the show was over, we had to make our way through the crowds. Jon saw someone who had a striking resemblance to tom cruise. he looked him in the face and said “Mr. Cruise. I love your work.” The guy looked at him and said, “Thank you.” so hilarious! luck was in our favor that night, it was the funniest collage of random events. it was a good way to end veteran's day, we love hanging out with lauren!